Raising kids in the mountains (Georgetown, Idaho Springs, Empire?)

[lalabear]

Originally Posted by SheridanL

I love your pics lala!!! I'm so glad you are there and happy!!!

Thanks! We are so happy! I love living in the mountains. It's beautiful, and I love watching the critters from my backyard. We will probably move somewhere a little more "out" of town next year. I'm already getting annoyed at the increase of people with ski season starting. I want to feel like we live in the middle of nowhere without giving up the convenience of a grocery store within 15 minutes. This area totally makes that possible.

Originally Posted by wanneroo

In my opinion, no you don't need studs unless you are driving on a solid sheet of ice all day. Studded snow tires are falling out of use these days as the snow tire technology has gotten better and studs have issues with tearing up roads.

In Idaho Springs, March I'd reckon is the worst as storms around then can reverse direction and come out of the east. As the storms push up against the steep Front Range, they wring out the moisture quick and you can have big snowfalls. The worst in recent years was in March 2003 when up to 10 feet of snow fell in 36 hours around Idaho Springs. The interstate was closed for 3 days, although I apparently broke the law by driving on it the first day after staying overnight in Idaho Springs.

Thanks for your help wanneroo! It seems like they clear the roads up here pretty quickly. I spent the night in Denver last week, during that storm that rolled through. Driving on the streets in Denver was crazy, but I-70 was clear, and all the roads & parking lots were clear up here. I got a little nervous when we first left the hotel and I saw how bad the roads were, so I stopped to try and put on my chains. Couldn't figure it out. But in the end it didn't matter. We made it home just fine. 10 feet of snow would probably be a different story all together though.

[Skifreak189]

That's magnesium chloride for you. Clears up the roads real fast but is extraordinarily corrosive. Notice the dead trees just before Georgetown off I-70? A lot of the smaller towns don't use magnesium chloride for this reason. I know for a fact where I live in Fort Collins doesn't use magnesium chloride on the city streets, perhaps Idaho Springs is on the same boat?

[rivrfox]

Hi, would you please update the highs & lows of living here. Love & blessings, rf!

[agraves]

Hi,
We are looking between the climax mine and the henderson mine in colorado for my husband to do mining engineering. I am wondering how things are going in Idaho Springs? That is my top place to live right now. Thanks!

[lurtsman]

Hey Agraves, I wasn't in the original thread, but I did do a little research on the area.

Idaho Springs, Colorado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think one of the things you have to ask is if a town of 2000 is right for you. If so, you'll probably like it. The views are great. For me, anything less than about 200,000 people is too small. I love the idea of having a retreat in the mountains, but I couldn't live in a place without access to a Sam's club or a Costco. If isolated mountains towns sound good to you, I think you'll be a big fan of this one

[Mike from back east]

Here's a photo from 1901 showing Georgetown in great detail and what looks to be the Georgetown Loop Railroad in the background.

[mountaingirl1975]

Hi I seen your post and I live in empire and if he will be working up here then it is a long drive from golden and I wouldn't move into idaho springs I would try georgetown and I wouldn't put the kids in Carlson Elementary take my word on that. I have lived up here a year and love it. There are things to rent and buy but you need to really look for them. Hope this helps